As we come around the last lap of the regular season in high school football, this past weekend definitely didn’t disappoint and will have implications in just a few short weeks when the playoff brackets are released. In some of the most anticipated games around the county, there were some upsets, games that came down to the very last snap and others that we thought would have ended closer than they did.
Half Hollow Hills East was ranked one of the top ten teams on the island before the season started this year. To everyone’s surprise they lost their first two games of the season and started off the year 0-2, leading people to prematurely count their season out as a disappointment. They have won their last few games and capped it off this weekend by convincingly beating a strong East Islip team last night 21-7. East Islip was undefeated this season up until meeting Nick Sevilla (QB) and Daniel White (RB) of Hills East. The Redmen drop to 5-1 while Hills East improves to 4-2. There’s a good chance for these two teams to face each other in the playoffs, possibly even the Suffolk County championship game for division 2. Hills East is the epitome of the saying, “It’s not how you start but how you finish.”, with Bayport-Blue Point beating Babylon in each of their matchups since 2018. The Panthers came into this game with much more to prove than just the final numbers on the scoreboard. They were here to prove that they aren’t to be looked over as an easy win. Aidan Winters, Babylon’s stud running back, stepped up and answered the call as he ran for 345 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 27-6 win over Bayport-Blue Point. This win for Babylon also broke Bayport’s 33 game regular season winning streak.
On Saturday late morning the Ward Melville Patriots loaded a bus and headed south into Colonial territory to take on William Floyd. This was the first time the two teams faced off since last year’s Suffolk County championship game at Stony Brook University. Both teams were coming in 5-0 with most local sports analysts predicting Ward Melville to beat the defending Suffolk County champs William Floyd. Floyd’s defense stepped up in a serious way against a Ward Melville offense that truly runs like a well-oiled machine. The Colonials defense caused five turnovers, three coming at crucial moments in the fourth quarter. Ja’Quan Thomas ran for over 200 yards and four touchdowns to put the Colonials over the Patriots at the final whistle. Thomas is currently the leading yard rusher in all of Suffolk and number two on the island. There’s a good chance that these two powerhouses could meet again later in the playoffs, even back at the large school championship game.
Keep an eye out for some tough teams and underdogs that could make a statement in the upcoming playoffs by beating any team on any given day. Sachem North, Huntington, East Hampton/Bridgehampton and Bellport. A really big shout-out to Northport who is also currently running an undefeated season for the first time in nearly 15 years!
